Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Ideologies often ignore the complexities and realities of human nature.
In plain terms
People do not fit neatly into rigid systems of belief.
What can you take from it?
Be cautious of systems that demand you ignore your humanity.

Where it applies

  • political movements
  • organizational culture
  • self-reflection

Putting it to work

  • evaluate belief systems
  • prioritize human needs
  • question dogma

Questions to consider

  • How does your belief system treat individual needs?

Another view

Some argue that ideologies can provide necessary structure for society.

More from Albert Camus

  1. If Nietzsche and Hegel serve as alibis to the masters of Dachau and Karaganda, that does not condemn their entire philosophy. But it does lead to the suspicion…

    Permalink to quote #83
  2. Every rebellion implies some kind of unity.

    Permalink to quote #85
  3. One might think that a period which, in a space of fifty years, uproots, enslaves, or kills seventy million human beings should be condemned out of hand. But i…

    Permalink to quote #82

Related quotes

  1. For me Esoteric Hitlerism is being possessed by the archetypes of the collective unconscious which the Greeks used to call Gods:

    Miguel SerranoMiguel Serrano quote #1
  2. What persuades men and women to mistake each other from time to time for gods or vermin is ideology. One can understand well enough how human beings may strugg…

    Terry EagletonTerry Eagleton quote #3
  3. I doubt if one ever accepts a belief until one urgently needs it.

    Christopher IsherwoodChristopher Isherwood quote #16